A double-period oscillation signal in millimeter emission of the radio galaxy NGC 1275

TL;DR

This study detects two quasi-periodic oscillations in millimeter emission from NGC 1275, suggesting jet precession or SMBH binary dynamics, which enhances understanding of galaxy core activity.

Contribution

It reports the first detection of dual-year-long quasi-periodic oscillations in millimeter emission from NGC 1275, linking them to potential SMBH precession or binary interactions.

Findings

Identified two quasi-periodic oscillations at approximately 345 and 386 days.

Proposed a long-term precession period of about 9 years affecting jet behavior.

Suggested mechanisms include Lense-Thirring precession or SMBH binary influence.

Abstract

The nearby Seyfert type galaxy NGC 1275 contains a bright radio nucleus at its center, revealed through high-spatial resolution imaging to be the source of the jets emanating from the galaxy. Coincident with the emergence of a new component C3 in the nucleus since 2005, flux densities from NGC 1275, at least at radio, millimeter (mm), and gamma-ray frequencies, had been increasing up through 2017 and leveled off afterwards. We analyze the long-term light curves of the nucleus that span the rising trend to 2015 July, and find a pair of approximately year-long quasi-periodic oscillations, with periods of $P_l\simeq 345$\,d and $P_h\simeq 386$\,d respectively, in emission at 1.3-mm wavelength. We discuss the case that there would be a long precession period $P_{\rm prec}\simeq 9$\,yr, causing the appearance of $P_h$ that is slightly higher than $P_l$. The accretion disk around the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) would be precessing at $P_{\rm prec}$, induced by either the Lense-Thirring effect or the existence of a companion SMBH. In the two scenarios, $P_l$ would be the jet wobbling timescale or the SMBH binary period respectively. The finding, which could be verified through high-spatial resolution mm imaging, would not only identify the nature of the jet variation but also help reveal the full features of the galaxy.